The Penny Stratagem
by FullWolfMoonGirl
Summary: When Penny is used as a pawn in a bet between Sheldon and the guys, everything goes very right. And then very, very wrong. Will Sheldon discover the true costs of toying with her emotions? Or will Penny just beat him until her arms get tired? Let's find out...
1. The Bet

**A/N: I decided to be vague about the particular season or between seasons this can be set in, but it's pretty clear the guys are all still single here, so place them wherever you feel most comfortable placing them in your mind. **

**I'm new to writing Big Bang Theory fiction, so please be kind, but feel free to give tips and advice. **

**Please review? :)**

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Howard, Raj, and Leonard stared at the tall, dark haired theoretical physicist as if he truly had lost his mind. He didn't look up from his card sorting.

"Let me get this straight." Howard began slowly, trying to comprehend just what, exactly, Sheldon Cooper was implying. "You think you'd be able to land a girl like Penny when Leonard hasn't been able to keep a hold of her? Look how hard he's trying. Desperately, I might add. She also hasn't been too impressed with my poetic words and flirtations, and I'm hard to resist."

Raj rolled his eyes and Leonard shook his head.

"Well, 'Land' would not be the appropriate term I would approximate for that endeavor. But yes." Sheldon replied simply.

Raj snorted. "Dude, I have a better shot at her drunk than you do sober!"

Leonard laughed. "Come on, Sheldon. You haven't shown her the slightest interest!" Leonard pointed out. He wasn't feeling jealous. Sheldon was hardly a threat. It was nothing but a joke to him to even think Sheldon had a shot at Penny.

Sheldon dealt the cards and replied flatly. "I didn't say I was interested. I said that as far as the math is concerned, I have the best odds of attracting her, if I were so inclined."

"Really?" Howard's voice rose a tone as an idea came to him. "Then, why don't you?"

It was Sheldon's turn to snort. "I refer you to my previous statement. If I were so inclined. I am not so inclined."

"You said you could do it, so put your money where your mouth is." Howard challenged.

Sheldon sighed as he finished doling out the cards. He turned in his spot slightly to face the engineer. "Howard, I am _not_ going to engage in any of your antics."

"But you can't just say you can get a girl like Penny, and then drop the ball without proving that you can or can't actually do it." He argued.

Sheldon shrugged and sifted through his hand of cards. "I don't have to prove myself to any of you. Your opinions would have to matter greatly to me for me to exert the kind of energy it would take to prove I can, in fact, attract Penny."

The conversation had started out like many others the foursome had. With Howard and Raj teasing Leonard on his constant pining for the girl across the hall while Sheldon tried to call their attention back to the game at hand. Then Raj had mentioned that he felt that the odds of any of them attracting Penny were stacked in the order of Leonard, Raj, and then Howard, but that they were still very slim odds. He'd excluded Sheldon completely from his scenario, a fact that Sheldon hadn't cared an ounce about. But Howard pointed out that he forgot Sheldon. Raj then proceeded to laugh loudly and announce that Sheldon had no chance whatsoever of attracting a girl like Penny.

That was what had prompted Sheldon to disagree and explain that currently his odds were zero only by choice and that his odds for attracting Penny were, in fact, the highest out of the four of them if he were to attempt such a thing. Ordinarily, he didn't bother getting involved in such conversations, and while he could have cared less what his friends thought about his lack of sexual prowess, he didn't enjoy being told there was something he stood no chance at mastering if he truly wanted to.

"Tell you what," Howard began mischievously. "How about this." Sheldon glanced at him impatiently. "If you do it, and fail, you have to lay off your rules and condescension for six entire months. That means no more telling us we can't sit in your spot, or giving us strikes for ordering Chinese on Pizza night, and no reminding people that I _only_ have a Master's Degree or implying I'm stupid in some other way." Before Sheldon could react with his usual derivative comments, Howard continued. "_But _if you succeed, and Penny falls for you, I'll not only virtually be your slave for six months seeing to your every whim, I'll hand over my 1978 vintage, unused, still in the box Battlestar Galactica board game, all of my original Star Trek memorabilia, and that miniature cylon you've been eyeing."

Sheldon gasped. He stared openly at Howard, practically drooling at the idea of getting his hands on such treasured items. "For clarity's sake, you are saying that if I attract Penny, you'll be my slave for six full months, give me your 1978 vintage, unused, still in the box Battlestar Galactica board game, _all_ of your original Star Trek memorabilia, and the miniature cylon, completely and permanently without complaint? _No backsies_?!" Such a collection was worth several thousand dollars on a bad day, not that Sheldon would dare to sell such items he greatly coveted.

Howard chuckled. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. But no going over to the Cheesecake factory and hanging out, then calling that a date. Or her just liking you as a friend. We're talking real romance here. You have to get her to fall for you, _completely_. And by completely, I mean heart, mind, _and_ body." He grinned.

"I don't know..." Sheldon fretted with a slight frown. "That would require exceptional energy on my part as well as actual physical contact with another person."

"I'll throw in my Green Lantern limited edition collection." Raj piped up, causing Leonard to shoot him a look. Raj shrugged. "Hey man, if it will shut him up for six whole months, it'll be worth it. Besides, it's not like it's ever gonna happen."

"Deal." Sheldon quickly said. He could amass a large collection that would ordinarily take him several decades of collecting to achieve, in just a few months time! It would mean having to tolerate excess time with Penny and things like..._Touching_. But sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. The greater good being all the goodies he would collect from Howard and Raj for doing this.

Leonard shifted uncomfortably. "Hang on a second! You can't _do_ that! Penny is a person. You can't toy with her like that! Also, there is no way Sheldon could succeed in something like that."

Sheldon turned his attention to his room mate. "Yes, she is a person, but I don't really see your point." Rarely did he see Leonard's point when it came to Penny. "I can succeed. I always have been very capable of doing so ever since the first day we met Penny." He said confidently.

Leonard tossed him a look of disbelief. "Are you serious? You said it yourself, _I'm_ the Mac Daddy of our group."

"Only because I choose not to be."

Now Leonard was getting irritated. "You've got to be kidding me! Even Howard has more charm than you!"

"_Hey_!" Howard added defensively.

Leonard ignored him.

Sheldon had gotten up during Leonard's mini-rant and collected paper and a pen, along with his Notary stamp. He set about writing out the details of the agreement, ensuring that Howard and Raj couldn't back out of the contract.

"You're not actually going to try to go through with this!" Leonard laughed. albeit nervously. As much as he didn't want to see Penny get hurt, he didn't believe for a minute that Sheldon stood a chance in hell. He couldn't see Penny getting hurt at all by any of this. She just could never be interested in someone like Sheldon. He was sure of it. "How in the world could you possibly win Penny over?"

"It's really quite simple, Leonard." Sheldon kept writing as he answered his friend. "Many women are attracted to the so-called Alpha Male. In our group, I am and always have been the Alpha Male. I'm the tallest, most intelligent, and most physically fit one of the four of us, which are primal features making me biologically the most compatible and desirable mate. It dates back to our de-evolved ancestors. The females would naturally seek out the males that were most capable of finding food and shelter sources, protecting them, fending off dangers to them and to their potential offspring, and most likely to have viable sperm. I admit, it's a very primitive dissection of hormones, instincts, and based on gender biases, but today those qualities are still often in play when females search for a mate. Referring back to your previous hypothesis, Raj, the actual order in likelihood of our success would be myself, Leonard, you, and then Howard. You would have come in second, but as you're incapable of speaking to the female of our species without alcohol, your chances are decreased."

Raj frowned unhappily at this.

"Okay," Leonard began. "Let's say for the sake of argument, that all of that is true, which I could easily argue against, but for now, I won't. Penny can't stand you a lot of the time and hasn't shown the slightest interest in you in that way, any more than you have in her. If your asessement were correct, wouldn't she be fawning all over you when she's over here hanging with us? But no, she doesn't. She fights with you, and turns to _me_. I'm the one she comes to in our group. Not you."

Sheldon finished writing out the contract in careful detail and handed it over to Howard and Raj to look over and sign. He sat back and looked at Leonard. "Leonard. I understand your confusion as I have not bothered to employ my Alpha Male status in our social group, particularly in regards to females. I'm a man of science and my primary interest has always been science. I have no interest in pursuing the trivialities of a romantic relationship. But, I can assure you, were I to take such an interest, I am perfectly capable of employing my dominance via the masculinity my testosterone offers, and attracting women. And need I point out, that the first time you invited her over here, it was my whiteboard and intelligence Penny was originally drawn to, not yours?"

Leonard didn't know if he should laugh again, or get nervous. Never had Sheldon insisted on anything even close to this! He didn't know what to say. He could only sit and watch as Howard and Raj each signed the contract and Sheldon signed and stamped it.

Sheldon handed Howard and Raj their own copies of it.

"You have exactly six months to get Penny to fall head over heels for you." Howard reminded him, folding and tucking his copy in a pocket. "Remember that after the first six months, if you've failed, you keep your mouth shut for six more full months." It was worth it to Howard because he didn't think he had anything to lose. This was Sheldon they were talking about, after all!

Sheldon nodded. He took all contracts quite seriously. "Understood."

Leonard sat back as they resumed their game, wondering what, if anything, would come of all of this.


	2. Perplexing Behavior

It had been a week since Howard's bet and the signing of the contract, and Sheldon hadn't made a single move. Leonard noticed this with some glee. He figured the lanky genius had given up such a thing he considered of little interest in pursuit of other more science related ventures. He'd been keeping a close eye on his room mate, and Sheldon had not once gone across the hall to pester Penny in any way, shape, or form.

So when Penny knocked once and barged in that evening to crash their dinner, he wasn't worried. "Hey guys!" She smiled happily at them.

"Hey Penny!" Leonard greeted her eagerly from his chair. "It's Thai night and we're watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. Join us?"

Sheldon nodded toward her. "Hello." He went back to his orange chicken.

Penny sat down on the couch next to Sheldon and grabbed an egg roll. "But Jersey Shore is on!" She protested, expecting Sheldon's usual lecture about how she could always bother to pay her cable bill and watch it in her own apartment.

He didn't disappoint. "Penny. As much as you seem obsessed with inconcise documentaries about the Jersey Shore, tonight is adventure movie night."

Penny knew 'her' boys all too well. She would take over the TV, Sheldon would complain for a few minutes until Leonard stepped in and distracted him. She had to admit, she did kind of enjoy how Leonard's crush on her tended to make him do what she wanted. She didn't think it was too bad. After all, she really was his friend, and did favors for him all the time, like driving Sheldon around. She didn't lead him on, she just didn't discourage him. After all, he was kinda cute.

"You want me to give up a new episode of Jersey Shore so you can watch some movie from the 70s that you probably have three copies of on DVD?" She rolled her eyes and reached for the remote on the coffee table.

A firm hand was suddenly enclosing around Penny's wrist. She looked up, surprised. Leonard and Penny both sat in stunned silence.

Sheldon's hand pulled hers away from the remote. She was so surprised that the guy who cringed when someone even accidentally brushed against him, was willingly touching her, she didn't even protest.

Her eyes met his questioningly.

"The movie is from 1981, not the 1970s, and we only have one copy of it. You might be interested to know that this is _my_ television, Penny. If I wish to watch a classic movie repeatedly without pause, I will." His voice held an authority to it that caused the blond to look uncertain about pushing the issue with him. It was probably the first time she'd ever felt like she had to back down before she ever got started.

He released her wrist, his eyes still locked on hers. There was no challenge in them, just a cool, calm confidence that brooked no argument. A moment later, he went back to his chicken, his eyes on the movie. Penny continued to stare at him. Leonard frowned.

In Leonard's experience, women liked to be treated as equals. Sheldon's approach to Penny bothered him on two levels. One, because he didn't like the idea of Penny being talked down to or 'dominated' in some way by a so-called Alpha Male. The other was he didn't like the effect Sheldon's seemingly subtle and minor display of dominance had on Penny. She not only immediately gave up her quest of watching her show, and not argued with Sheldon about it like she normally would have, but she sat back, watching him with an expression Leonard couldn't read.

What happened to her usual eye roll and look of annoyance? Why hadn't she shoved him away and put him in his place the way she did with any guy who dared try anything on her that she didn't like? Leonard couldn't focus on the movie anymore. The only one who seemed content was Sheldon.

By the time the movie ended, Penny was dozing off beside Sheldon. Her head lolled to the other side, her body slightly slumping back. Leonard got up first. "We should just let her stay here tonight." He quietly informed Sheldon. "She's out cold and you know how she gets when we wake her. I'll get the blankets." He started toward the hallway, when Sheldon spoke up.

"No."

Leonard turned back, scowling. "No?"

"She doesn't need to stay the night here. When she stays the night here, she inevitably sleeps in, taking up my spot in the morning and delaying my morning schedule. She needs to go home."

"Oh, come on, Sheldon! Give a little. She's exhausted! She can't-" Leonard stopped himself when realization hit him. If Sheldon woke Penny up, he would have a very irritated Penny on his hands. It wouldn't help him win the bet and certainly wouldn't make Penny happy with him. He hid a smile. "Alright." He folded his arms. "Fine. But if you don't want her here, _you_ wake her and tell her."

"Alright." Sheldon nodded in agreement. He got up to finish cleaning up after dinner. After his third trip back from the kitchen, he bent down and gently, but solidly, shook Penny's shoulder. An action that made Leonard stare in shock. Here Sheldon was, once again, willingly touching another human being! Normally, he would have just spoken to wake her up, not ever laying a hand on her.

"Mmph, what?!" Penny mumbled tiredly, slapping at the hand that was shaking her. Sheldon's other hand caught her hand, mid-flight, and pressed it down to the couch cushion beside her. Penny's eyes popped wide open and she found herself staring directly into the bright blue eyes of Sheldon Cooper. He was bending over her, one hand on her shoulder, the other on the opposite hand. Since when did he get so touchy-feely?

"Penny, it's late and time for bed. Go home." Again, he spoke calmly, quietly, not in a taunting way, but firmly.

"Why didn't you just let me sleep over, like I always do?" She questioned, not moving from under his hands, interested to see what he did.

"Because I have grown tired of you taking over my couch when I need it in the mornings. It is also not a good way to obtain a solid REM cycle of sleep. Your bed is the best place for you to heathily get a good amount of sleep. Should you need to stay over due to circumstances other than simply being tired and falling asleep, that can be negotiated. Otherwise, you need to go across the hall to your own bed." He moved his hands from her shoulder and hand and straightened up, stepping back to give her room to move.

Penny was too sleepy to argue. That coupled with the fact that Sheldon initiated physical contact with her _twice _in the same night, had her not even trying to protest more. She pushed her hands into the couch cushion to help give herself leverage to stand. Her hand slipped before she could fully get her footing and she started to fall back into the couch.

Sheldon's hands shot out and caught her by the upper arms, taking her hands off the couch, and keeping her upright at the same time. He pulled her fully to her feet in a strong, careful gesture. He held onto her upper arms, his eyes finding hers as he waited for her to get a good footing. It wasn't as if she would have been hurt simply falling back onto the couch, yet he'd helped her anyway. It was almost as if he were trying to exert his strength in front of her.

Her face flushed slightly as she found her balance and glanced away from him. "Uh, thanks, Sheldon."

Sheldon nodded and released her arms, but this time didn't step out of her way. He stood so close it made it impossible for Penny to leave without having to move around him. She was trapped between the couch and him. Her eyes on the ground, she moved around him, her arm brushing his. He still didn't move or flinch or anything. She stepped around him and toward the door.

"Good night, Penny." Sheldon called to her, watching her.

"Yeah, good night, Penny!" Leonard piped up.

She glanced back at Sheldon, and then to the door again, her face still feeling hot. Why was he staring at her? Why had he kept touching her? Sheldon, of all people, didn't touch people! "Good night, Sheldon!" She called, sounding more alert now as she stepped out the door and closed it behind her. She could still feel the the warmth from his hands on her arms.

Leonard was one unhappy camper. Had Penny actually blushed because of Sheldon? And she forgot to say good night to him! She'd only remembered Sheldon. He waited until they heard Penny's door shut before speaking. "Sheldon, what was that?"

Sheldon turned toward Leonard. "What was what, Leonard?"

"You with Penny! You touched her. Like three times." Leonard pointed out, trying to hide his own insecurities. "You haven't bothered with her all week, and now suddenly all this...Attention."

Sheldon went to get a bottle of water from the fridge as he replied. "My initial inaction wasn't an idle choice. It was the first step toward's displaying my dominance. And the first step is initializing interest in attraction by exerting my dominant position as the Alpha Male. By initiating physical contact and being clear with her about which boundaries I will not allow her to cross, I have given her non verbal cues as to my potential and ideal qualities as 'top dog' as Howard puts it. I did discuss all of this with you just last week, if you recall."

"Okay, but what do you think that's going to do? Sure," Leonard flung a hand toward the apartment front door. "She may have let you get away with that because she's confused and tired, but Penny doesn't want some brute of a guy badgering her."

Sheldon pulled the water from the fridge and arched an eyebrow at this. "How was I badgering her? Really, Leonard, do I need to define the very definition of badgering to you?"

Leonard held up both hands. "No! I just meant...Well, she won't like it if you're disrespectful." He couldn't help saying even though it felt too much like he was helping Sheldon.

Keeping his patience, Sheldon turned back to his friend. "In what way is my asserting that she respect my space and seeing to it that she gets a proper amount of sleep, disrespectful?"

Frustrated, Leonard couldn't think of an answer. He supposed he was just reacting to the oddness of Sheldon trying to attract Penny. But he was right, he hadn't done anything particularly disrespectful or brutish. Plus, considering some of the guys Penny dated, brutish probably wouldn't even have bothered her. It might have even been some kind of turn on for her.

"As I see I've rendered you unsurprisingly speechless, I'm going to bed." Sheldon took his water and left Leonard sitting out on his chair, sulking.

Across the hall in her bed, Penny stared up at the ceiling. What was with Sheldon lately? He hadn't been over to bother her all week, and then when she came over, he'd been so...In control. And not in his usual way of trying to control the world around him. He hadn't just gone on explaining in painful detail why she shouldn't touch his adventure movie time, or the imbalances she would cause if she stayed over all night. Those were the kinds of things she could easily argue and roll her eyes at. But he hadn't done that. He'd just taken action like a lot of the more normal guys she knew might. Except most of them wouldn't do so with quite as awkward a touch as Sheldon had. Even though it had been odd, at least he hadn't done it roughly. If he had, she would have clocked him.

Sheldon never liked touching people. He even said so on many occasions. But, he'd touched her tonight several times. Guys touched her all the time and she thought nothing of it. But, Sheldon was different. Sheldon had to step out of his own comfort zone to approach her in such a way and she appreciated how difficult and different it must have been for him. For whatever reasons, he'd stepped out of it tonight for her. It made her feel special. She rolled over, a slight smile crossing her face until she realized the warm fuzzy feeling she had while thinking this.

_Wait a sec, I'm talking about Sheldon Cooper here! Get a grip, Penny!_

She shook the feeling and smile away. Sheldon probably just had too much tea and was extra hyper or something, she reasoned. That had to be it. An off night, that was all. But she couldn't help her mind wandering over the strange events of the evening as sleep pulled her in.


	3. Not So Mixed Signals

**A/N: Thank you all for your brilliant reviews! I truly am grateful and thankful for them. Each and every one I read even if I don' talways reply to them all. I got myself a bit overwhelmed by trying to complete four stories (actually five, but never mind that) at once. *points to profile* As I have pointed out in my profile, I can be very slow at updating. I don't mean to be, but it just happens to be how I work. Yes, even when I'm only working on one story at a time. For some odd reason my brain won't do that very often anyway. It jumps around as it pleases. **

**In any case, if it is bothersome to wait for too long, you can always just think of this story as in an 'on hiatus' state until I update it again so you don't have to feel too disappointed while waiting.**

**Please take the time to review if you've read my little story here so far, and let me know what you think. :)**

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"Come on, touching her shoulder isn't exactly a sign of an impending romance, Leonard." Howard was smiling broadly and chuckling to himself. For the past couple of hours, Leonard had done nothing but whine about how Sheldon treated Penny during their adventure movie night. At first, Howard and Raj eagerly soaked up every detail, but after it was repeated multiple times by their sullen friend, they were ready to move on to other topics.

"He didn't just touch her shoulder, he shook it. And he caught her hand. And touched it. And he moved her wrist. And held her by the arms. And-"

"Look, dude, this is lame, even for you." Raj pointed out. The guys were seated around Sheldon and Leonard's living room. Sheldon was noticeably absent.

Leonard made a face. He was slouched back in his chair, basically pouting as far as Howard and Raj were concerned. "It's not just that he started touching her."

Howard's eyes twinkled. "No, it's also that she," He started mimicking Leonard's low, drawn out, depressed tone and slouched shoulders. "Ignored me, stared at him a lot, didn't argue with him, and it's possible she even blushed at one point!" His tone returned to normal. He straightened up in his chair. "Did you check her pupils for signs of arousal there, buddy?" He teased.

Leonard glowered. "He's taking this thing seriously. I've never seen him like this, guys." It was worrying Leonard big time.

"So what are you saying? You think he'd actually succeed?" Howard asked with interest. He had a lot invested in this and truly didn't believe that Sheldon would ever even go through with it, much less that he would be successful. But the idea of that happening was amusing. Losing some of the favorites of his collection might almost be worth it to see Sheldon wooing Penny and watching Leonard squirm. It held a definite entertainment quality if nothing else. He would have preferred her falling for him, but a guy like Howard needed to keep his options open. Or so he constantly told himself.

"No...Yes...I don't know!" Leonard's distress was obvious. He pushed his glasses back and sighed heavily.

"You're over-thinking it." Howard sat up a bit where he was seated in Sheldon's spot. Raj leaned forward to grab a slice of the pizza laying out in a box on the coffee table. "Okay, so maybe he's got all the calculations down, who knows? But you're forgetting the guy has as much warmth to him as a trip to the arctic."

"Yeah, and can you picture kissing _Sheldon_? I bet it's like kissing one of those mall mannequins in the men's coat department at the mall. Cold, uncaring, and he never calls you the next day." Raj paused at the looks he was receiving. "Not that I've ever done that." He quietly added, slumping down.

Leonard slowly started to smile. "You know, you're right! As far as I've ever seen, he's never even dated anyone before. He's clueless about how to treat a woman. I've got nothing to worry about." He added, letting his true thoughts slip out.

"You're worried he'll come and sweep her out from under you?" Howard grinned. "You'll have to make a move for that to happen."

"I'm not worried!" Leonard protested too quickly. "He's got nothing. I'm sure the next time he tries to go all Alpha on Penny, she'll put him in his place." He nodded with a confidence he didn't particularly feel.

The door to the apartment opened slowly. Sheldon, his messenger bag slung across his chest, entered. "Hello." He greeted his friends, giving a quick nod before depositing his bag next to the desk where his laptop was laying. He turned toward the couch. "Move." He commanded, eyes on Howard.

Raj immediately moved over one seat to allow Howard the middle couch cushion. Howard slid over so Sheldon could take his spot. Leonard watched all of this, for the first time paying attention to the fact that Sheldon really was the top dog of their group. They always complained, argued, and talked about how crazy he was, but in the end, all of them almost always ended up giving in to Sheldon's will. It added to his growing unease about the whole Penny situation.

"Sheldon, what are you going to do if Penny _does _fall for you?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon sank down in his usual spot and was setting up his napkins. "I will celebrate my win by making room for my new collection courtesy of Howard and Raj."

"But what about her _feelings_?" He couldn't believe Penny would fall for Sheldon, but on the bizarre off chance that ever happened, where would that leave him? He also didn't want to see Penny getting hurt.

"I believe her feelings are a part of this bet. In order to meet the qualifications necessary for me to win, she will need to have romantic feelings for me." He stated while neatly laying a slice of pizza out on a plate before himself. He slid it to the side and placed another slice on a second plate.

"That's my point! You're playing a game with her feelings, Sheldon."

"Thanks!" Howard reached for the plate that had been slid in front of him.

"That's not for you." Sheldon quickly placed his hand in front of the plate and shook his head at Howard. Howard raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and sat back.

"If rewording and repeating what I've already said was a useful debate tactic, Leonard, you would be the man to beat." Once again, Sheldon failed to see Leonard's point. Of course they were playing a game. Betting could certainly be considered a game. He didn't understand what his curly haired pal was going on about.

"Don't any of you see how _wrong_ this is?" Leonard protested louder this time.

"Calm down. If the little lady falls for Tex here, I'm sure he can handle it." Howard grinned at the look Leonard gave him. He was definitely enjoying this too much.

"Raj?" Leonard appealed to the friend who he thought might be the most sensitive to his pleading. "What about Penny?"

"What?" Raj looked back at him innocently. "Oh, don't give me that! You're only jealous that she might fall for someone who isn't you." He pointed out, causing Leonard's face to crinkle even more with stress.

"You know, I don't see what all of this fuss is about." Sheldon said between bites of his pizza. He glanced at Leonard. "Do you have some sort of problem with our bet, Leonard?"

"Yes!"

"Well too bad, because you failed to join or sign our contract, therefore, any problems you might have with it are null and void."

A light knock on their door stopped any further discussion as Penny peeked her head inside. "Do I smell pepperoni?"

"You've got a nose like a bloodhound, Penny." Sheldon didn't look up at her. He gulped down half his water and pointed at where Howard was sitting beside him. "Move." He ordered Howard.

Howard looked at Raj who hadn't budged. "Move." He directed him.

"Aww, but why do I always have to sit on the floor?" He whined, slipping off the couch and plopping down on the carpet. He grabbed his beer off the table on his way down.

"Because that's the order of things around here according to Sheldon's Law." Howard wasn't really even joking. "The King," He pointed at Sheldon. "Queen." He pointed at Penny as she made her way over to sink down between Sheldon and Howard. "Heir Apparent." He pointed to Leonard. "The younger, more dashing prince," He placed a hand on his own chest with a wide smile. Then pointed at Raj. "And the toy poodle."

Penny turned to give Howard a once over. "Really? I always thought of you as the court jester."

Leonard and Raj both laughed. Sheldon sent Penny a quick, sly smile at her joke.

Leonard groaned under his breath. This was getting all too real for him.

"So, what's up? Another night of video gaming?" Penny asked as she lifted the pizza in front of her up and took a bite.

"I'm afraid not. Tonight we're in strategic battle mode." Sheldon pointed toward a rolled up map that was leaning beside the coffee table. "I've got the schematics for the entire battlefield."

"Battle?" Penny glanced at the map, confused.

"Paintball." Leonard explained.

"Ohhhh!" Penny nodded in understanding. Her boys took few things as seriously as they did their paintball wars. "Who is it this week, the chemistry department again?" She asked, settling back in her spot.

"No, it's the geologists." Howard gritted his teeth. "Those bastards have gotten us three battles in a row."

"Yeah, and last time, they took turns hitting me with a different color paint even _after _I was already down!" Raj complained. "And red and orange blends are_ so_ not my color."

"Which is why I invited you over, Penny." Sheldon spoke up. He picked up the map and unrolled it. "I've calculated that the odds of our beating them tomorrow are raised greatly with you on our team."

Penny was flattered with the invitation. It wasn't often that Sheldon, of all people, complimented her. And when he did so, she knew that he actually meant it. Plus, unlike a lot of other things the guys were into, she thought paintball really was fun. "I'm in." She agreed quickly, leaning over the map with him.

"Excellent." Sheldon smiled and pointed to a spot on the map. "Now, I've noticed a pattern. They tend to work from the inside of the camp, taking out the main teams here. They then move outwards. I was thinking the best plan of attack would be to form a circular pattern around this area," He tapped the map while Penny nodded. "And close in on them."

"Good plan. But look. A weakness." Penny shifted her pizza to one hand and tapped on the map. "This spot between the other base camps. There are only five of us so they could slip through here even if we post a man there. I say we send in a distraction and then crush 'em."

"I concur." Sheldon sounded excited. He pulled out an erasable pen, straightened the map out on his lap, and started making marks on it with Penny's help.

Leonard shot a look of disapproval at the pair of them. Not that either of them noticed. It was one of the few things he knew Penny shared with Sheldon. A competitive streak. The two of them together were hard to beat whether it be bowling, video games, or paintball. He almost always looked forward to paintball. Not so much this time around.

"You'll be our key surprise element, Penny. You can sneak around this way behind their base camp while we surround them. Raj can distract them."

"Why do I always have to be the distraction?"

"Because you're the pretty one." Penny deadpanned, looking straight at him.

Raj sat up a bit straighter and prouder on the floor. "You're right, I am."

"You know, Penny..." Howard began. He smiled creepily at her and leaned toward her, causing her to lean closer to Sheldon. She was invading his space, her shoulder brushing his, but he said nothing of the intrusion. His eyes remained on the map. "If you like sneaky surprises from _behind_, I can-"

Penny raised a finger and waved it at him threateningly. "Finish that sentence and you'll be getting a surprise visit from my shoe up your-"

"Hey, hey." Howard held up his hands and backed off. "No need to get threatened by my overwhelming masculinity."

With a roll of her eyes, it was all Penny could do not to slap the little twerp upside the head. "Yeah, you just keep thinking that way, Howard. Over there. _Way_ over there." She pointed to the floor beside Raj with a determined look.

Howard hesitated. It wasn't too often that Penny got so annoyed with him she actually made him move away. He continued to allow himself to believe she was just an extremely feisty flirt and that he was just far too manly for her. Yeah, that was it.

"Penny, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from dictating where Howard sits in my apartment." Sheldon informed her, still without looking up from the map. Penny frowned. Howard sat up a bit straighter, looking both surprised and pleased until Sheldon continued. "That being said, Howard, you're making Penny uncomfortable which is making her invade my personal space, and making_ me _uncomfortable. Move over there." He directed Howard to the exact same spot Penny had been indicating a moment before. Penny sent Howard a gloating smirk.

With a huff, Howard got up, tugged his belt buckle, and moved into the spot on the floor beside his friend. Penny straightened up, removing herself from Sheldon's space, but she did wonder how he managed to allow her to invade it at all without flinching or complaining sooner, or directly to her.

Penny and the guys finished most of the pizza within the hour. Sheldon completed mapping out their plan for paintball, and Leonard became more comfortable as things settled into a natural feel. One that included Sheldon not touching or being polite to Penny in any abnormal ways, which suited Leonard just fine. He didn't care for where any of this was going, for oh so many reasons.

**_The following day..._**

Raj and Howard were flanking Sheldon's right. Leonard and Penny were to his left. Each coupling was crouched down, tucked behind bushes. Sheldon slid his back slightly to the left of the tree he hid behind. His head slowly moved into view. He peered around the massive trunk, squinting at the near and far landscape. With his right arm he beckoned Penny over.

Penny clutched her gun, glanced around, then scurried over to him.

"It's time to put Operation Disrupt and Conquer into effect." Sheldon leaned in conspiratorially to inform her.

Penny nodded seriously. She cocked her gun, saluted Sheldon, and ran off back up the hill. She knew her duty well and was a fine soldier. She would circle around and come up to the enemy camp from behind.

Sheldon gestured for Raj next. Raj tiptoed over, looking around worriedly. "What is it?"

"The Geology Department have already annihilated the Chemistry Department. We know right now they're back at camp. Go there. Distract them. Be pretty and alluring." He repeated the words he'd read when learning just how to accomplish such an ambush.

"Why did you decide Penny can't do it?" Raj whined, frowning.

"Because Penny can take out four or more of them in the time it takes you to choose a single target." Sheldon explained rationally.

This had all already been discussed. Penny was the pretty blond one, and most likely to be able to distract the geologists, but she was far too valuable as a sharpshooter to the team for Sheldon to agree to such terms.

After a second, Raj shrugged and rolled his shoulders back, shaking his shaggy dark hair proudly. "That's okay. I can be pretty and alluring. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." He turned and moved forward, down the hill where they knew the geology department were meeting at camp.

Sheldon looked over to Leonard and then Howard, raising his voice enough so both sides could hear him. "You know the plan. Let's do this."

Howard hurried around and down the left embankment, hiding himself behind various bushes, trees, and even occasionally slightly larger-than-average flowers on the way down. He knew he was to ambush from the right. Leonard would take them down from the left.

Leonard started down after Howard did, on the opposite side.

Sheldon started cautiously down the hill after his comrades. He knew Raj would do his part, but it would only work for so long before he was sacrificed. Leonard lacked aim, but he made up for that in enthusiasm. He often ended up taking out at least one or two due to his excessive need to please. Howard lacked the stamina, but had a decent enough aim and could usually take out at least one before being taken down himself. Sheldon could be a good leader, but even he knew who surpassed him when it came to aim. Penny was his ace.

He could hear Raj singing to the geologists. He was also doing a ridiculous dance that had a few of the geologists staring oddly at him. _Distracted._ Sheldon smirked as he came upon the sight and found his spot. He perched his weapon on the lower limb of a particularly bushy tree and took aim at the first one who tried to fire upon Raj. His shot hit the man who clutched at his chest, shouting that he'd been hit.

Raj dodged the purple paintball, but got hit by a glob of yellow. "Ow!"

Sheldon could see paint flying left and right from Howard and Leonard's sides of the camp. Two more were hit. "Yes!" Sheldon hissed happily to himself. But something was wrong. There were still two left, but they weren't in sight. Nor was Penny.

He narrowed his gaze in on the field slightly below him, searching. Then he saw it in the distance. Three figures. His jaw set in a straight line. "This isn't over." He muttered. He pulled his gun from the tree limb, slung it across his shoulder, and ran toward the right. He passed a confused Howard who was trying to find the two missing geologists. He ran beside their tent, pulling his gun up to raise it and train it on the enemy team.

Two geologists with cocky looking grins had their guns pointed directly at the person standing in the middle of them. Penny. She looked annoyed and disappointed. Not to mention very disheveled.

"Give up or she goes down."

"Sorry, Sheldon. They snuck up from behind me. I tried to just get them to shoot me but they decided to annoy the crap outta me instead."

"It's alright, Penny. I should have anticipated this." Sheldon's eyes never left those of the two men he currently considered enemies. He knew well enough the geologists' reputation for devious plans. He should have foreseen their decision to keep two guards at the back of their camp.

"Anyway, don't give up." Penny knew how insanely important this paintball stuff was to 'her boys'. It was fun to her sometimes, so she agreed to go, but it wasn't something that crushed her ego to win or lose the way it seemed to for the guys. She'd seen a paintball win end in all four of the boys celebrating the rest of the weekend as if they'd won an actual war, and she'd witnessed a loss in all four of them moping and complaining until the next paintball war. She'd rather be covered in paint and go home to enjoy the rest of her day than to watch that again. "You got 'em right where you want 'em." She encouraged the far too serious leader of her paintball team.

"Release her." Sheldon demanded, his gun trained on one of the two fellows as Howard and Leonard came up to each of his sides, their guns raised as well. Raj who was already shot, just shook his head and went to go get changed.

"Never!" A redheaded geologist declared, causing Penny to fold her arms over her chest with a sigh.

A stand off. This could take a while. Any normal group of paintball warring people wouldn't stand around talking about it. They'd just go and shoot. She'd grown too fond of her friends to let it bother her too much and even managed to sometimes find their silly seriousness charming. Although she was a bit annoyed at the tactics of the other team, her knee was hurting, and she kinda wanted to leave already.

All three of her own team had such determined faces that Penny thought they were looking as if she truly were a prisoner of war being held captive. None of it bothered her. She didn't even feel dumb having been outwitted by two guys who looked like they probably spent far too much of their time holed up in a darkened room planning this kind of thing anyway. She could also have easily just walked away and been hit by a paintball for having done so, and not played along with the whole being held hostage thing.

But...There was a certain amount of pride over the loyalty of and to her team. She knew they loved to win, but she also knew they really would make 'sacrifices' for one another out in the 'battlefield'. Had she just given up and walked away, that wouldn't have been something a teammate would do. _God, is Sheldon wearing off on me or something?_ She thought to herself as that line of thought just struck her as far too cooperative.

"I thought we agreed to take no prisoners." Sheldon reminded them coolly. "I see your word means _nothing_." He spit the word out with comical disgust and such a sour look, that it took Penny a bit of work not to laugh.

The two guys flanking Penny looked far too smug. "We have already eliminated the rest of your team. There are four of us and two of you. Given that you have taken Penny hostage and are attempting a negotiation for her release on the grounds of our surrender, you've left me with no other choice." Sheldon stepped forward. "Take me in her place, and then you can negotiate with the rest of my team." He knew his team would never negotiate for his release. He'd trained them well and they would take the two out even if it meant Sheldon being sacrificed.

"Sheldon, it's fine." Penny scowled at him. "Shoot them and let's go home?" She asked, more than ready to leave now. How that would play out, she figured her team would aim and fire, and the geologists, at least one of them, would hit her, but they'd go down, and her team would win anyway, so at this point she really couldn't see what Sheldon's fuss was all about.

"No, Penny. It is not _fine_. It is my duty to see to it my team is motivated and safe. You may very well be motivated, but you are not safe, therefore I have not completed my duties." He informed her.

Typical Sheldon, she thought wryly. He was so obsessed with following an exact set of rules, even if he was the one who made them up, that he'd even make himself miserable to follow through with them.

"Why should we exchange one prisoner for another when the outcome won't be changed?" A floppy haired geologist to Penny's left questioned Sheldon. He may not have known Sheldon's team would fire upon them once he was in their custody, but he had his suspicions that the idea of exchanging prisoners was a dumb one.

"As I have just stated, I am the team leader. As such, it is my duty." He spoke clearly, concisely, as if speaking to a mentally challenged person and not someone from his very own university.

"Nah. We'll keep her. Now get on with it. Surrender or she gets shot." The other geologist spoke up, pointing his gun directly at Penny's helmet covered head. "Followed by the rest of you."

"What happened to your gun, Penny?" Sheldon questioned. It was a point that was bothering him. He knew Penny would never just surrender it. Something had to of happened for her to give over her gun. She would have allowed herself to be shot numerous times before letting them get hold of her weapon, and he didn't see either of her captors in possession of it, nor Penny herself.

"_He_ happened." Penny jerked a thumb to the guy on her right, her lips tugging downwards at the reminder. "He used a tripwire. Gun got flung on my way down, and they grabbed it, tossed it away."

It was only then that Sheldon fully took in Penny's appearance. Her hands and legs were smudged with dirt, a leaf was stuck in her hair at the side of her head just under her helmet, and her pants' leg was torn open with a slight bleeding gash in the leg, just above her knee.

Leonard matched Penny's frown. "Penny, are you okay? Hey, guys that's not fair play! She could have really been hurt!" He was angry. Oddly enough, not half as angry as their leader was, though not necessarily for the same reasons.

Penny nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. These two are lucky I didn't decide they were worth beating up." She'd had worse damage during junior softball matches back in middle school. She may sometimes have appeared the picture of feminine frailty, but she'd always been one tough cookie. She really just wanted to go home and have a bath at this point.

"Are you sure? I could take you home if you want? Or to a pharmacy? Or not? Or whatever you want?" Leonard quickly offered. Penny was very used to Leonard coming to her defense at every given turn. It was very sweet of him to be so caring, but he reeked of so much desperation that it put her off.

Before she could answer, Sheldon quickly intervened.

"_Excuse me_!" Sheldon's outraged tone caught everyone's attention. His face was red with the full extent of his current fury. His glare was tossed from one man to the other. "But the rules of the paintball park clearly state that you may not, under any circumstances, use excessive force, trappings, alternative weaponry, or anything that might cause bodily harm to other patrons while enjoying the activities of the park." He hoisted his gun back up onto his shoulder in a relaxed manner. "I believe that using a tripwire, stealing her weapon, and injuring her leg qualifies as having violated your agreement with the aforementioned park which means you will be expelled from the park on this visit, thereby forfeiting the game to us. _We _win. _You _lose."

That wiped the glowing grins from the two geologists' faces. "But-"

"No buts. You have violated their terms and conditions. Howard, go and report them immediately." Howard nodded and headed off. "Alright, works for me. I'm worn out anyway, what with all this standing around and doing nothing." He quipped as he started ambling away. He wouldn't bother to report them. There was no need. The kid running the place wouldn't do anything about it, the two geologists knew when they were beat and would leave on their own anyway, and as long as Sheldon thought they'd been kicked out officially, he would be happy.

"Leonard, go find and collect Penny's weapon and take it back to her car." Sheldon commanded. Leonard shook his head. "But Penny's-"

"Injured and getting rescued. As such, I am commanding you to collect her weapon. The two of you will lower yours and release Penny." He wasn't taking no for an answer from anyone today. Leonard didn't look happy about it. With slumped shoulders he headed back the way Penny and the two other guys had come to find her gun.

Realizing their mistake, the geologists gave up. They lowered their guns, one frowning and the other looking like he wanted to cry. "This sucks." He muttered. "Let's go get lunch." His friend said and the two men scurried off, leaving Penny and Sheldon alone.

Penny watched as Sheldon pulled out a small hand held first aid kit from a side pocket on his jacket. "See, you won!" She pointed out cheerfully.

"Of course I did." Sheldon sounded as if it were obvious he would have won. "Now, we may as well get this over with." He paused, looking at her. She looked back, arching an eyebrow at him questioningly. He looked around before gently taking hold of her arm by the elbow and guiding her over to a tree. "Lean against it."

"Why?" She glanced at the hand that was firmly clasping her elbow. She could have just wrenched it away, told him she was fine, and went on back to her car. Her knee was stinging, but it wasn't the end of the world. However, arguing with Sheldon was so much of a battle half the time in and of itself that she decided it wasn't worth it. Besides, there he was again, with the touching, and it made her curious. Why was he exerting such an effort? And with _her,_ of all people?

"So you won't bleed all over your fatigues. These pants can still be repaired, but blood stains are a lot harder to get rid of. There is also a small, but not unsubstantial risk of getting an infection with an open gash like that in a wooded area such as this." He released her elbow.

She leaned back and watched in fascination as Sheldon knelt down in front of her. This was unprecedented behavior on his part. He pulled a pair of miniature scissors from his first aid kit and aimed them at her knee.

"Hey, Sheldon, what the hell?!" She demanded, and started to twist her leg away from him. His hand encircled her upper leg and gently pinned it to the tree.

"Hold still or I might accidentally stab you!" He scolded her with a low sound of annoyance in his tone. She froze. Sheldon had always been such a big baby about touching and blood, at least his own blood, and he certainly had never dared try to force her in any physical situation at all. In the end, they both knew he stood no chance. He may have been taller, but she was pretty darned muscular herself and could have kicked him away if she had wanted to.

Yet, she didn't. She remained still.

Her reasoning was simple enough. Sheldon was reaching out to her in a way he'd never been known to reach out to _anyone_ before, and she wanted to find out why. There was also the fact that he did appear to be trying to help her, and wasn't trying to be rough or hurt her.

It wasn't until he was confident that she wouldn't move, that he bothered to give her an explanation. "I took a four hour first aid course. If I rolled up the pants' leg instead of cutting away the material, it could damage the wound. This will also make it easier for you to take it to a seamstress to get the fatigues repaired. In this case, I mean Raj. We're all handy with our sewing machines, but he actually enjoys it." He released his hold on her leg and used the scissors to carefully cut away a square of her pants around her wound. He put the scissors back into the first aid kit and pulled out a small spray can. She winced as he aimed and sprayed, but was surprised at the lack of pain. "Wow, Sheldon, that doesn't even hurt!"

"Course not." He shrugged. "I bought the antiseptic with numbing agents. As a leader I believe it is best to come prepared with the best products in case of emergencies. First aid emergencies, while rare, necessitate higher quality products than bathroom and food emergencies." He informed her as if this were a pure fact that every person on Earth followed.

She listened and watched as he took out a cotton bandage and tape. It was really something, seeing Sheldon acting concerned for another human being. Sure, he was probably only doing it because of his leadership duties or whatever, she reasoned, but she'd never seen him take the time to do it for anyone else, and last month she recalled Raj had injured his finger pretty bad during a paintball excursion when he had a mishap with their camp tent string. He'd bled and Sheldon had done little more than hand him a band aid and tell him to 'buck up.'. That made her pause to consider just what he was doing now. With her. And why.

Sheldon appeared to be taking great care to apply the bandage to her wound and secure the medical tape around it. It took him several minutes. When he finished, he placed his supplies back into the small kit, pushed it down into a pocket on the side of his jacket, and stood up. "There. Now we can go celebrate our victory with an afternoon of online video gaming, Chinese take-out, and end our evening with Star Wars on Blue-Ray." He looked very pleased at this.

He turned to head up the hill to the parking lot. He stopped when Penny dared reach out and place a hand on his arm. He looked down at her fingers resting just below his elbow. She watched him carefully. He didn't flinch or pull away. He didn't lecture her about touching him. He only looked at the hand, then turned his head to look back at her.

Sheldon had trained himself well. Where Penny was concerned, he needed to prepare himself to become accustomed to physical contact. There would be no way around it if he wished to win the bet. By the reading he had done, one way to deal with his discomfort, was to expose himself to such contact. It was reasonable, even if it wasn't something he particular cared for. At the very minimum, he didn't find her touch to be offensive so far.

"Sheldon." Penny began cautiously. He slowly turned to fully face her, causing her hand to fall away from him. "Is something going on that you want to talk about?"

"No. Why?" He appeared puzzled at her question.

"It's just...You don't like touching people."

"Correct." He nodded.

"But, you seem..." She drew the corner of her lip under her teeth for a second while she thought about how to bring it up. "To be more comfortable touching _me _lately. Is there a reason?" She finally asked.

Sheldon considered her for a long moment. Penny wondered if she was about to be let in on some big secret and she waited anxiously. When he did speak, she was surprised by the answer. "It is my understanding that when one wishes to express a romantic interest in someone, touch is one of the primary paths of expressing such an interest." He told her so factually, it was as though he thought he were explaining why people breathed air.

His fingers were suddenly at the side of her face, just brushing her upper cheek as he removed a leaf from the stray bit of hair that was sticking out from under her helmet. Penny felt her face flash with heat.

"We should be going. It's supposed to rain this afternoon, and I'd rather not be stuck in traffic or out of doors when the storm rolls in." He said as he turned away. He took the time to let the leaf flutter from his fingers to the ground before he started walking back up the hill.

She watched him, her mouth falling open freely now that he was turned away. It took her a couple of seconds to get a grip and start trailing after him. Her mind was reeling.

Sheldon Cooper had just told her he_ liked _her.

It wasn't the same as any other guy liking her. The usual guy who was into her thought she was pretty and wanted to get into her pants, occasionally actually liking who she was as a person. Sheldon had never expressed any interest in her before and she knew it couldn't be him wanting to get into her bed. Or least, not _just_ wanting that.

Then there was Leonard. She was pretty sure the guy liked her. He was cute. Friendly. Caring. And so eager to please that it made her feel guilty to even let him into her life as a friend. Any normal guy would have turned down most of her requests. But he ran and did errands for her nearly any time she asked, no matter how outrageous the errand was. It was too easy to cross boundaries with him. He would never draw any lines. It wasn't a place she felt good about being put into.

Sheldon on the other hand, had boundaries. Very definite boundaries. Ones he spoke volumes about. And loudly. She recalled the way he'd been reaching out lately to touch her more often, and even in doing so, hadn't allowed her to cross the boundaries he didn't want crossed. She could rely on him to draw those lines and speak up when he did or didn't want something. That felt oddly safe to Penny. Something many people didn't understand.

She knew where she stood with Sheldon, always. When he didn't want her in his spot, he told her to move. When he didn't want her in his apartment, he told her to leave. When he began to get interested in her in a romantic way, he started stepping out of his own comfort zone to show her so by touch and now he had even bluntly said as much.

Not to mention, he was kinda really cute in his own right. He was a gangly looking guy, but when she thought about it, he did have amazing eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes could pierce right through her. He also had a presence that wouldn't be ignored under any circumstances. Where others blended, Sheldon did not.

Penny liked to be pretty aggressive in her relationships, but she liked a partner who was at least as equally aggressive. One who might be unpredictable and take the lead at unexpected times himself. Someone who could surprise her. Who could take her breath away. Sheldon had certainly been doing that lately.

There was something very hot about a guy who knew what he wanted and went after it. Not in a rapist way, of course, but in a confident and assertive way. She couldn't believe it, but she found herself thinking about Sheldon in a way she never would have dared before. Where could it all lead? Where _would _it all lead?

As she followed Sheldon up to the parking lot, her mind full, they failed to notice a pair of eyes following them.

Leonard pushed his glasses up and tried hard to fight back the ill feeling creeping into his stomach.

* * *

**Up next chapter: Things progress between Sheldon and Penny. Leonard decides he's had enough. **


End file.
